Adjustable garment hanger



Jan. 7, 1958 c. F. CARRICO 2581 9 ADJUSTABLE GARMENT HANGER Filed April 5, 1957 i8 Tie 4- 24 I 4 INVENTOR.

CHMZLESFCAEPJQQ J BY ATTOEHECS United States Patent ADJUSTABLE GARMENT HANGER Charles F. Carrico, Atlantic City, N. .1.

Application April 5, 1957, Serial No. 650,948

1 Claim. (Cl. 223-88) This invention relates to garment hangers, and more particularly has reference to a wire hanger having means for adjusting, relative to one another, the planes of the suspension hook and the garment-supporting body of the hanger.

In many instances, one may not desire to locate the garment-supporting body of the hanger in a plane common to that of the suspension hook. Most usually, these components are in the same plane so that when the suspension hook is extended over a clothes bar, the body of the hanger will be extended perpendicularly to the length of the bar. This is inconvenient in some instances, as for example when the user desires to have the clothes at an angle to the open side of the closet so that they can be more readily observed and selected. In other instances, it may be desired to change the angular position of the body portion of the hanger, for the purpose of facilitating use of the garment hanger in automobiles, etc.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a hanger that will have the desirable characteristics noted above. To this end, the hanger includes a suspension hook in a first plane, having at its lower end a cross bar, which is adapted for engagement in any of a plurality of angularly spaced grooves provided in the underside of a disc secured fixedly to the garment supporting body of the hanger. The suspension hook has a shank rotatable in the disc, so that the hook can be shifted axially to disengage the cross bar, after which the hook can be rotated relative to the body of the hanger for repositioning the cross bar.

Another object is to provide a hanger which, though having the desirable characteristics noted above, will nevertheless be capable of manufacture at a minimum cost.

Another object is to provide a garment hanger that will be adapted for use in any locations at which garment hangers are presently usable, with the hanger being so formed as to be capable of manufacture almost entirely from the inexpensive wire material presently used in wire garment hangers.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claim appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a garment hanger according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view on line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary bottom plan view of the hanger as seen from the bottom of Figure 2, the dotted lines showing different positions to which the body of the hanger may be adjusted;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 on a slightly reduced scale showing a modified construction; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modi fied construction.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures l-3, the

ice

hanger, generally designated .10, includes a one-piece wire body having a straight, horizontal trousers bar 12 integral at its opposite ends with upwardly converging coat support arms 14. r

A suspension hook 16 is also formed of wire material, and at the lower end of its shank is integrally formed with a transversely extending cross bar 18.

A flat disc 20 has in its underside a plurality of diametrically extending grooves 22, 24, 26 respectively angularly spaced 45 apart and extending continuously over the full diameter of the disc or plate. In other words, grooves 22 and 26 are at right angles to each other with groove 24 being equidistantly spaced from the grooves 22, 26.

The upper ends of arms 14 are formed with short, horizontal extensions 28 which are welded in the ends of groove 22. The cross head 18 is of a length less than the distance between the extensions 28 of arms 14, as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3.

The shank or stem of the suspension hook 16 is loosely positioned through and is freely rotatable in a center opening 29 of plate 20. Accordingly, in use, the weight of the body of the hanger will cause the cross head 18 to remain firmly engaged in a selected groove 22, 24, or 26 as the case may be. In the illustrated example in Figure 1, the suspension hook and the body of the hanger are in a common plane. This is the normal relationship found in the ordinary wire coat hanger. If, however, it were desired to locate the body of the hanger in a plane angularly spaced 45 from the plane of the suspension hook, one would shift the suspension hook downwardly within opening 29, and rotate it through 45 to align the cross head 18 with groove 24. The cross head is then entered in the groove 24, so that the body of the hanger is now at 45 to the plane of the suspension hook, in a position A (Figure 3).

If it is desired to have the suspension hook and the body in perpendicularly related planes, cross head 18 would be engaged in the groove 26, as shown at B in Figure 3.

In Figure 4 there is shown a modified construction wherein the body of the hanger has arms 14 connected to plate 20 in the same manner as in the first form. In this form, fixedly engaged about the stem of the suspension hook 16 at a location spaced from the cross head 18 is an enlargement 30 in the form of a ball, although another shape could obviously be employed. Said enlargement provides an abutment for one end of a compression coil spring 32, the other end of which bears against the top surface of the plate 20, thus tending to bias the suspension hook upwardly to hold cross head 18 firmly seated in the selected groove, thus preserving an adjustment even when the hanger is not suspended from an overhead support. The spring might be omitted, in many instances, as the weight of the body would ordinarily tend to maintain the cross head. engaged in the selected groove. However, the construction shown in Figure 4 could be employed if desired. Alternatively, the arrangement might include the enlargement 30 without the spring.

In Figure 5, shank 16a is integral at its lower end with perpendicularly related cross heads 18a, to provide a more secure engagement of the shank in selected positions of adjustment thereof. On the shank above the crossheads is a small plate 34 which serves to add to the sturdiness of the construction.

In all forms of the invention, the device is characterized by its relative simplicity and low cost. The device can, at the same time, be swiftly adjusted so far as the planes of the suspension hook and body are concerned, as desired. In every instance, the device can be stored in a relatively small area and can be used in any situation in which conventionali garment hangers are presently employed.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, sinceit may be 'utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limitedto the specifi'cconstructionillustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be' illustrative of the principlesof operation and themeans presently devised to carryout said principles, it-- being considered that the invention- 'compr'ehends any minor change in constructionthat may be permitted with'inthe scopeof the appended claim.

Whatis claimed is:

A garment hanger comprising a bodyincluding a plate having in its underside a plurality of crossing grooves, said plate having acenter 'opening'at the point of crossing ofthe grooves; a suspension hook including a shank loosely positioned through thecenter opening and a cross head on the shank engageable in any of said grooves responsive to rotation of the suspension hook within the plate and axial movement of the suspension hook following said rotation in a direction to engage the cross head in the selected groove; an enlargement formed upon the shank of the suspension hook upwardly from the plate; and a compression, coil spring extended about the shank and held under compression between the plate and enlargement for resiliently, yieldably biasing the cross head into the selected groove of the plate. 

